AT&T - Best music in town

(GUEST BLOGGER)

This evening I attempted to cancel our home phone service. While I sit here and type, I have been on-hold for a total of 1 hour 25 minutes and 33 seconds. This makes me ponder what could I have spent this amount of time doing if I didn't have to deal with AT&T? Before we start that, this is what I have done while on hold...

Changed my clothes from work. Play with my son. Help Jami fix dinner. Eat dinner. Feed Cooper. Clean Cooper. Clean up the kitchen. Dance with my wife (that elevator music while your on hold is foxy). Change my son's diaper. Take a shower, including shampoo and conditioner (I love that silky smooth fellin'). And on and on...so you get the point.

Can you imagine what else you might be able to accomplish? You can catch a plane in Louisville and fly to central Florida in the time I have been on hold. You can watch Cars, including the previews and that silly Pixar short they play in the beginnings of every show. Mow the grass...twice. Eat a nice dinner at a sit-down restaurant of your choice, somewhere like Denny's or the Waffle House. Watch three innings of a professional baseball game. Once again...you get the point.

We have gone on three Disney World vacations and none of them did we have to wait in a line longer than 60 minutes, but for some reason my anticipated AT&T experience must be more magical because I continue to hold. And the situation might be better if it weren't for the fact that Jami and I have only recognized one elevator instrumental the entire time. Wanna guess the tune?

Bottom line, there is something very ironic about the fact that I can't seem to talk to a telephone company representative because they won't answer the phone!!! If I thought Charlotte Young would have better luck I would Wave 3 Trouble Shoot their pathetic souls, but I would probably be on-hold there too.

It is now 1 hour 39 minutes and 54 seconds into the best commercial free non-lyric rock the country has to offer and still no human companionship. Now that I think about it...I'm not sure what I wanted to ask them in the first place?

AT&T - absolutely terrible!!!!!!!!

Steve

PS - The song was Under the Boardwalk, but I'm not sure if it was the Bette Midler version seeing how the songs have no words.

Un-Decorate

Cooper was in one of his rare "I can entertain myself" moods this morning so I thought I would get some stuff accomplished. All Christmas decorations are down and put away, all ornaments are off the tree and packed away, the only thing that remains is the tree itself and lights. The tree box is back up in the attic or might have done that too. I did leave two ornaments on the tree, they were stocking stuffers from Steve's parents this year. I'm thinking of actually removing one of them since let's face it, only one of these teams actually have games left to play this season.

Dressing Himself

Okay so he really didn't actually dress himself, but he was handing me some things the other morning so I thought maybe that is what he wanted to wear. This was the end result.

A Good Day

Have you ever woke up and just knew it was going to be a good day? I kind of had that feeling today. Today was one of Steve's Saturday's to work so Cooper & I started our day off by heading to Walmart after breakfast. I really cannot stand Walmart and I could have gotten everything at Target, but I thought I would save a buck or two. This is when I knew it would be a good day, I got one of the first non handicapped parking spaces. The store was pretty much empty. My reasoning for going at 8:30 am. I got everything I needed and had extra time to spare to run to Target as well. After lunch I got Cooper's 0-9 month clothes to store up when Steve called. I just assumed he was on his lunch break, he was on his way home! That is what made my day good. I'm sure everyone agrees that the months between Sept and December get pretty hectic. You tie in back to school and a few holidays the weeks seem to run together. Fall gets a little crazy for us because Steve goes to Bloomington for football games a few times a season. This year I think he went to three football games, a basketball game, and IU's first basketball practice. Add that to the Saturday's that he works and we don't see each other that often. The next few months slow down considerably for us and for that I'm thankful. I miss him when he isn't and I'm glad to have him home.

Christmas Day

Whew... today was a whirlwind, but I loved every minute of it. Even though he went to bed almost 2 hours later, Cooper still managed to wake up at the same time. We started off the day by opening some gifts here. We got Cooper 2 puzzles and an Elmo & Cookie Monster toy. We had a feeling the Grandparents would spoil him enough :) I got two books from Steve and I got him The Office calendar for this desk and some XBox live points. Next we were off to his parents house for breakfast and the gift exchange. You wouldn't be able to tell we were in a recession by the looks of the Christmas tree this year. I think the budget doubled somehow from last year. All three of us racked up. Steve's parents do a great job of balancing things we want with things we need. Cooper got diapers, wipes, gift cards to be used for spring clothes, and of course toys. Steve and I both got some clothes, gift cards to go out to eat, things for our yard, and I won $14 on scratch off lottery tickets. Afterwards we came home for nap time, well Cooper napped, Steve and I cleaned up and Steve opened all Cooper' toys and of course I blogged. Next we headed to my aunt's house where we ate a small lunch and visited with family. Steve and I also got some movie theater certificates, looks like we have a date night. Next we headed to my mom's house where Cooper got more toys and a winter coat, it was actually his second coat since Uncle Scott got him one earlier today. My mom also made me a pretty bracelet with Cooper's name and birthstone on it. It was sweet. Then, Steve's parents came over this evening to our house, brought us some leftovers and visited. Now I'm about to give Cooper a bath and pray that he doesn't get too cranky in the next hour, it was a one nap day.

Early this morning Cooper already had out a new book and wanted Daddy to read to him. Opening some puzzles. Yes Tracey & Gretchen I do have on a brown sweater and black socks.

Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa's. Look at all those presents.

Cooper wanting one of his many toys opened, they all revolved around animals this year.

Right before we turned into our neighborhood I turned around and this is what I saw.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve usually start out with our candlelight service at church followed by dinner at Steve's brother's house with his parents, aunt, and cousins. This year Cooper and I skipped church and met up with everyone else afterward. Most days he still takes 2 naps and it was going to be a late night so when he was ready to take a nap at 4:00, I just let him sleep. It worked out great, for someone who is usually in bed by 7:45 he was a trooper staying up till 9:30. Scott's house was great as usual, we had wonderful food and fun times. Steve's oldest cousin Randy could not make it this year. He is an engineer and lives down in Beaumont, TX, well there was still a lot of damage that needed to be finished due to Hurricane Ike. Never fear, we called him, put him on speaker phone and he read the Christmas Story to us. Last year cousin Tina presented us with the best gift, a scrapbook she had made for Cooper's first 5 weeks of life. This year, aunt Marilyn took the prize. She made us all a DVD full of pictures set to music, she made one of Steve's parents and their family and one of me, Steve and Cooper. It was so sad, I wanted to cry watching the whole thing. Looking back I realize I might not have enjoyed the earlier months as much, maybe because I was nervous and had anxiety, I'm not sure. I just sat there and watched it with him on my lap. It was too cute. It was a wonderful time had by all, and thank you to our family for all the blessing you gave us.

Cooper warming up at Uncle Scott's. I think this hat is a little big.

I couldn't get away with a picture of him eating. Notice the green bean on his face.

Playing with Uncle Scott.

Eating ice cream, do you think this child gets spoiled?

Aunt Marilyn with Randy on the cell phone reading to us.

Opening his first gift.

My favorite gift of the night. Don't look upset Steve, he has plenty of Bears clothes too, notice his bib up above.

Lunch with Grandma and Grandpa

Today, Christmas Eve, started out pretty much like every other day. Steve had to work so it was just me and Cooper for our normal daily routine. I had plans to go out to lunch with my mom and dad and I almost cancelled at the last minute. It was so nasty out earlier today but I couldn't pass up a free lunch at Texas Roadhouse. Of course I had to park in the last row when it was pouring down rain. Somehow I managed to get inside not completely soaked. I think The Roadhouse is becoming Cooper's favorite restaurant, he loves bread. Afterwards we walked around the mall, which was packed. First of all I didn't my stroller in since it was raining, I just planned on getting one of the mall ones, well the bill acceptor was broken and I didn't have $5 in coins. So we took turns carrying him. Well my mom got tired after half a hallway and Cooper hasn't really been around my dad much, so I guess you could say I carried him the whole time. When I was a kid we always celebrated on Christmas Eve, it wasn't until I got older did I realize that Christmas Eve is pretty much like every other day when it comes to shopping. Until I worked retail I didn't realize that there are people out there that really do wait until the last minute. On the Today Show this morning they said that those who did wait were going to get some good deals, retailers want to clean their shelves. They were right, I did see some good sales. Dillard's had their entire stock of ladies handbags 30% off. That included designer brands. I did refrain, no shopping done today, I was already finished.
Here is Cooper eating his bread, he is the happiest when he is being fed.

New Game

I'm surprised it too a month to figure this out but Cooper has a new game. That game would be to find a ball and throw it over the gate. He also did this with the pacifier, I quickly hid that one. Oh look, he made a basket.

Steve....

I thought I would post a disclaimer to my husband, due to last week guest blog and possible future blogs. If you don't know him, or even me for that matter, he has a strange sense of humor, think Eric Foreman from That 70's Show. I know that if you don't him his blog may have seemed a little harsh. It was in no way meant to be that way. He is a great husband and father and 100% supportive of me in being a stay at home mom. Before people start thinking I am married to a complete jerk I thought I would post some of the things that he has done for me.

If you remember a couple of weeks ago I posted how me made me dinner, if I don't have dinner started early then he pretty much offers every day to help me with it. That really wasn't a one time thing, he helps with cooking and cleaning pretty much all the time.

He works two jobs so I can stay home. If you knew us last year you remember him having to work a lot of weekends, he did get comp days during the week for this, but let's face it no one wants to work weekends. That is one reason he looked for another job, that and so I could stay at home. Now that he has a new job, he still picks up weekend shifts for extra money and the old place and since he only works there on weekends he does not get comp days. He just has to work 6 days a week when he does this.

He used to go to all the home IU football games with his brother, he had done this probably before he was even in high school. Since Cooper came along he only goes to half and splits the ticket with his dad. He did this so I wouldn't be stressed out with being at home all week and weekend.

I know without a doubt that he appreciates all that I do, as I appreciate him for all he does. His humor is one of the many reasons I feel in love with him. If it wasn't for silly comments or "blogs" that he does, he wouldn't be my Steve. He plans on a few more guest blogs, so be prepared!!!

Today Show

Click here on this news story that was on The Today Show this morning. I immediately grabbed my baby and gave him a hug.

Fun-filled Sunday

Most Sunday's around our house are pretty uneventful. We go to church, have lunch, nap, have dinner, play, go to bed. This Sunday was a little different. We started off with church, first service at 9:00. We can no longer get Cooper to take a nap before the 10:30 service, so we now go to first. This has required some adjustment, mainly me taking a shower Saturday night in order to get out the door by 8:40. Anyway, start off at church, my number got called this week (usually about once a month), poor guy just can't calm down. After service Steve's mom brought Cooper back home to put him down for a nap. Steve had to serve Communion and I had to work in the nursery the second service. I got home around 12:00 and Cooper was still sleeping. Steve used to go to his friend's house almost every Sunday before Cooper was born, it's his friends from high school, they usually sit around, play video games, watch sports. He hadn't been in over a month so he went there for a few hours. After Cooper's nap (his only one for the day I might add) we had a quick lunch and went to Kohl's with my mom and niece Emma. Every time I go there I see at least three people I know. This time it was my cousin, Ms Stacy from Cooper's old daycare, and the receptionist from Cooper's pediatrician. She actually recognized us first. I guess that is what you get when you go there 5 times in a month, 3 in one week. Afterwards my mom had to stop by her work for a couple of hours so Emma came home with us. I think I should look into adopting a 5 year old. Besides my living room being wrecked it was actually pretty relaxing. Cooper followed her around and I just got to sit back and watch. Pretty nice. I topped a good day off with some Puppy Chow (Chex Muddy Buddies, Monkey Munch, whatever you want to call it) with the remaining Chex Cereal I had. It was a good day, I guess you could call it a preview to what two kids will be like.

Cooper and Emma playing. He must have chased her around this thing like 5 times in a row.

He just had to know what she was up to at all times.

After dinner Steve tried to take Cooper's shirt off, he basically took it off himself. I didn't snap the picture in time though.

Finally, some good ol' chocolate and sugar.

New Cell Phones

Steve and I have been meaning to cancel our home phone for a few months now but before we did that we wanted to upgrade our current cell phones. Finally on Saturday we went out shopping, this was going to be our Christmas gift to one another. Usually when we go anywhere Cooper acts shy, chews on his fingers and doesn't make a peep. However, he was a hoot in the Cingular store. He kept pointing at everything making his noise when we wants something, flirting with the lady in line. It was rare form. Then I realized we were in a store with nothing but phones. The one thing he loves but rarely can play with. We know someone that works there so he gave Cooper one of the "dummy" phones they have. It looks like a real cell phone but without a battery and the screen doesn't light up or change. It took all of about 2 seconds for him to realize it wasn't real before he handed it to Steve and asked for help.

What goes on in his head?

The other night I was getting some milk ready for Cooper. He usually drinks it cold but before bed I do warm it up a bit. This particular night he didn't want to wait and took the lid from me before I could put it back on the cup. He was actually content with it for a little while. Sometimes I wonder what actually goes on in that cute little head of his.

At least it's a start

Although he has only taken a few steps on his own, Cooper has finally started to walk behind his bulldozer and push it. Look at me go mommy!

Surgery

After 5 doctor visits, wait a minute, 6 if you count the ENT, $135 in co-pays, 2 oral antibiotics, and 3 antibiotic shots we have an end in sight. Cooper got his third shot yesterday and the doctor did say he was about 75-80% cleared up, but we went ahead and got an appointment this morning with an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor. Before we met with the doctor he had his hearing checked with an audiologist. I knew that he did not have any significant hearing loss since they did check him at birth, but I was a little surprised at the difference in the right ear and the left (infected) ear. He responded immediately to sound on the right and it took a while for the left. Then she checked inside his ear to see how his ear drum responded to sound. He fought her on the right so she couldn't get a good look, but the left ear drum was not moving at all. It should pulse and his was like a wall. We only met with the doctor for like 3 minutes, who I might add can't be more than 35 years old. It's such an odd feeling to have a doctor the same age as you are. Anyway, all this was more than enough to go ahead and proceed. He hasn't been saying mama anymore and he isn't walking, so hopefully this will help out. It's just amazing to me he doesn't show more symptoms of being in pain.
I'm a little more calm about the surgery after talking to other parents. A big coincidence but the same doctor did Cooper's cousin Gunner's ears yesterday morning. My only bummer is that due to some unexpected medical bills, like Steve almost cutting off his finger, we are only $90 away from our deductible this year and it goes up next year. So the 8 days into the new year is going to cost me a difference of $900 had we gotten in by Dec 31st. But, it is what it is, he's my child I would pay anything to make him feel better. I joke that if I was still working at Mercer I didn't even have a deductible, but then again I probably would have gotten fired anyway this week for taking off so many days.

Stay at Home Complacency

(GUEST BLOGGER)

On November 19, 2007 me and my wife's lives were changed forever as our first child was born. The nights of going out on the spur of the moment ended, multiple vacations in a year ended, days of excessive spending ended, and thus began a new life. This life was marked in part by our ability to attend to all things with Pentagon-like detail to ensure our child's daily safety.

Since my wife began staying at home with our child, I have noticed she has traded in her credentials at the Pentagon for a more relaxed from of oversight...perhaps more comparable to the folks overseeing the Federal Reserve. I'm sure some explanation is needed, so allow me to expand.

Just this week our child has obtained a large bruise/knot on his forehead that was sustained by as she put it "falling into the door". But later when asked again the story changed to "I'm not sure?" It happens. Later in the week my wife informed me while eating some puffs, she accidentally fed Cooper a full sized hot tamale. Mind you she was sitting right next to him and handing him the treats one-at-a-time. This was followed by him attempting to eat a piece of spearmint gum. Once again, sitting nearly 4-inches from him as he attempts to inhale it. No worries...it was wrapped.

The stories go on-and-on, but the point of this exercise is to test the waters. Do stay at home parents loose their vigilance over time? I'm pretty sure my wife hasn't changed her clothes in nearly two weeks except for church on Sundays, so it must progress further than just monitoring a 13-month old child, who although fast at crawling, would still never manage to move from point A to point B without stopping to chase his own shadow.

Please let me know your thoughts. I love my stay at home wife, but her chances at working for President-Elect Obama's Secret Service Staff are rapidly declining.

Steve

LOST

Do we have any Lost fans out there? Do you remember when they had to punch in the numbers every 108 minutes of the hatch would blow up? Well, my house, or rather my living room is experience something similar. A while back we started having problems with our high definition. After weeks of it going in and and out we finally called DirecTv to come take a look. They were out here about two weeks ago and did something with our satellite, it did not fix the problem. We called back and they sent us a new receiver. Steve got it hooked up Friday and ever since then the tv will work for about an hour (although still no high def) and then at 31 minutes past the hour a box will pop up on the screen and inform us that at 33 minutes past the hour the channel will change so it can download more software. We do have the option of pushing, no do not change the channel. After the first few times we did let it download the software, however it never finishes, gets stuck at like 43% and starts all over. After about 2 hours the tv comes back on. We called about it and they said it sounds like it is stuck in some kind of "loop" and they will come back out this week and take a look. In the meantime at 31 minutes past the hour if the tv is on, we have to make sure to block it from changing the channel so the "loop" doesn't start all over. So weird!

A Few Random Photos

I think I mentioned that Cooper got a rocking chair for his birthday. Here is posing nice for me, however the next two pictures is where he would rather sit. And yes, he is showing us his belly button.

I have no idea why he wants to climb in there and play with his toys.

Finally, I love babies sleeping. They are just too cute.

Busy Week

My week is shaping up to be pretty busy. Let's see, doctor visits yesterday, today, and Thurs (more on that in a minute). I have my Jazzercise classes Wed and Fri morning. DirectTv is coming between 12-4 on Wed, and I need to get a couple of last minute Christmas gifts. At the beginning of the week I had nothing scheduled.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers concerning Cooper's ear. We went back in today and it has improved, yea!! He did get another shot to try and kill the infection even more and she gave me two options. The one I turned down was the shot today, followed by another 10 day round of antibiotics, come back in two weeks to decided if he needs tubes or not. I turned it down because he was on antibiotics for almost three weeks. Although he did great, it's typically hard on your stomach and I don't want the risk of him building up a resistance. The option I did take was a shot today, back on Thurs for a re-check, if it's still not a 100% we can opt for another shot. Regardless, if he gets another infection in the next 3 months tubes are probably going to be the best route. The bad thing about this, he doesn't show any symptoms. The only reason we caught this was we were in for his well visit. So I either wait till February or if he had a bad night assume it's his ear and make an appointment. Overall, good news is that he is improving!

Ear Update

We went back in today for a check of Cooper's ears. I was certain everything had cleared up. He did great on the medicine, he was sleeping great again, and has been in a great mood. Then enters the doctor. The infection has gotten better but still not at 100%. If left untreated it will get worse again. He had to get a shot of an antibiotic today and another tomorrow. We go back in another week for a re-check. If it still not better then we need to consider getting tubes. I know this is a simple and routine procedure for many children, but it still scares me to think he has to go to the hospital. I'm just praying this time it works.

Annual Murphy Christmas Party

Last night was the annual Murphy Christmas Party. It was the third time that Steve and I attended, although we did have to miss last year. If you know Melanie, you know that she us an awesome host. You can just call her Martha. First her house is beautifully decorated, she had tables set up and decorated for the guests, and the food was amazing. We started off with some appetizers and mingling. I would say there were about 24 people there. Next came dinner, which was awesome. Us, the Reid's, and the Bush's got sat together, I think Melanie knew what she was doing considering the talk turned to bodily function at our table. Dinner consisted of soup, salad, smashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and some type of meat with a blue cheese filling. Don't quote me on this, I just know it was delicious. After dinner we headed to the basement for deserts which was cake, cookies, truffles, brownie bites... need I say more. There was some games the always famous gift exchange. I didn't take a lot of pictures, if you would like to see more check out Tracey's blog, Rainman's family.

Here is our table, my picture doesn't do it justice. The salad and soup, I forgot to take any more food pictures.

The girls, Gretchen, myself, and Tracey.

Eric and Tracey.

Paul and Gretchen.

Steve and myself.

And finally, the loot. Steve ended up with a game, In a Pickle. It looks fun, not for sure exactly how to play it yet. And I ended up with a cute snowman ornament (from Gretchen) that is going to be Cooper's ornament this year.

A big thanks to Matt & Melanie for another great evening. I feel privliged to be apart of the invite list. I look forward to it every year.

I want to be just like Daddy.

The other morning Steve was getting ready for work and I was probably checking blogs, who knows. Anyway, Cooper was supposed to be with me but we went off to find his daddy. This is what I found. I think he wanted to get ready for work too.

Cooper's Daddy

It's kind of a running joke between Steve and myself that one day he is going to be walking down the road and finally find Cooper's real dad. It's all in good fun, but he says he just doesn't see where Cooper looks anything like him. He thinks he may have figured out the mystery. Could it be Michael Strahan?

My Wonderful Husband

Yesterday was one of those blah type days for me. Maybe it was the weather. Anyway, when Steve got home I was not in the mood to cook dinner, nothing sounded good, I really didn't even feel like eating. Then Steve took over. He made pancakes, eggs, and sausage. He is much better at cooking breakfast than I am, and it was delicious. It made my night and I cheered up real quick. He always says the way to my heart in by food. We have these two pictures from our honeymoon in Disney World. We are at Epcot and I look miserable, the next picture was after lunch and I am super happy. I think Cooper thought this was the best meal he has ever eaten,.

Christmas Shopping

Since Monday was just a nice day I decided that Cooper and I would do some Christmas shopping. We started off at Old Navy to make a return then headed to Target to pick up a few things. It's hard to get a lot done with a one year old but the best part is I got to do his Christmas shopping and he didn't even know it. He looks a little scared here, usually when he is scared of something he ends up loving it. You can't see it but there is an Elmo/Cookie Monster head in the back of the cart that rolls and laughs.

What happens when Daddy is in charge.

Did Elmo get cold?

How does he do these things?

I was in our bedroom the other night and somehow Cooper had managed to get every single drawer open. I don't even know how he reached the top one.

Jazzercise Christmas Party

Last night was the Jazzercise Christmas party. It was a lot of fun, my first year and since I didn't have to go through any strange initiation like wrestling a snake, it was fun. There was lots of good food, a gift exchange (the kind where you can steal a gift), and talking of course. Since I have my three scheduled days that I work, it was nice to catch up with some of the instructors and class managers I don't normally see. I didn't get my camera out so I had to take some pictures when I got home. I was bad and stole a gift, I did feel bad for it b/c Alice had it and she ended up getting two or three gifts stolen from her. It's a little snowman that says "Jesus loves you snow much", I couldn't help it, I thought of Cooper when I saw it. It also came with a platter that says "Jesus is the gift." Angie also bought everyone gifts. We drew numbers and each person went downstairs to pick one out. There was no stealing on this game. The gifts were all similar in nature, here is mine. You can either hang it somewhere or there is a stand in the back you stand it up. I'm already looking forward to next year, this time I may go out the week after Christmas and find some good deals.